Leadership

This bibliography is a quick reference of abstracts on ways to improve women’s career paths within organisations. We have referenced 117 items, organised them into seven topic areas, and provided a brief summary of each item. Articles covering more than one topic have been included in each relevant area.

Building on the research used on Realising the opportunity, we have included other papers which contained significant data or analysis. We have also added in reports which contain concrete proposals for action or recommendations, and information on New Zealand.

We hope Inspiring Action will make it easier for human resources practitioners and managers, Chief Executive Officers and leadership teams, to identify practical steps to take to improve women’s career pathways in organisations. To find articles, use the search function below or download the full report.

This comprehensive census report describes women's representation in directorships and senior executive management roles in Australia's ASX200 and ASX500 top-listed companies. Women comprise 12.3 percent of directors in ASX200 companies, a marked increase from 2010. Female representation is higher in the top 20 companies, and scales down with decreasing size of organisation. 9.7 percent of senior executives in ASX200 companies are female. Detailed statistics are also provided on female participation by industry sector and region, and on gender statistics amongst Chief Executive Officers, board and committee chairs, executive and non-executive directorships, and Australian government boards. Comparisons are provided against other countries, and the previous experience of senior women and men is analysed.The report also provides a summary of the ASX's diversity recommendations to companies, and compliance with these. The conclusion summarises options for future actions, and presents arguments for and against the imposition of a mandated diversity quota.

This succinct report focuses on women's representation on boards of publicly-listed companies in the United States. Statistics are presented from 2006 and 2012, demonstrating a small increase over this period to 14 percent representation onS&P1500 boards, and 17 percent on S&P500 boards.Additional data are supplied for: the number of women members on boards, by year and by company size; the progress of companies which in 2006 had no women members; the percentage of companies which have reached the "tipping point", here defined as one third of members being female; the professional backgrounds of the new women directors recruited in 2011-2012, and their qualifications for directorship as cited by the recruiting companies; and the percentage of women in specific board and committee roles.

This report presents a "year in review" summary of progress towards gender diversity in senior management, based on the results of Grant Thornton's 2013 International Business Review. It presents and discusses diversity statistics from various countries around the world, including recent figures in support of the business case, and finds that many (but not all) developing or emerging economies have seen improvement.Cultural perceptions and expectations remain an obstacle for women in several countries, and other obstacles to women's advancement are discussed. The report posits that education, talent management and the provision of flexible working arrangements are most beneficial to increasing numbers of women in top leadership.

This report, prepared by a major professional services firm, presents data on the current status of women's representation in senior executive roles within the public sectors of the G20 nations. Ranked figures are also provided for women's representation in parliamentary and Ministerial-level positions, and for total percentage of women's representation across the nation's entire public sector workforce and private sector board positions.The report estimates that 860 million women world-wide currently lack the education or opportunity to participate in the global economy. Specific issues faced by women in a variety of nations are discussed in brief, and interviews with senior female leaders in these countries provide insight on the political and social obstacles which must be overcome. The future effects of austerity are considered: an estimated 710,000 UK public sector jobs will be lost by 2017, and in countries such as Spain, Greece and Portugal austerity has primarily affected areas which have been traditionally female-dominated, such as education, health and social services.Actions are suggested for governments to improve their female representation, ranging from legislation, to changes of culture, role modelling and leadership, and specific advice is offered for women entering the sector and wishing to progress.

This report provides summary statistics of women's employment and career status globally, at all stages from education to senior management.Education is stressed as the most important contributor to wage differentials around the world; of the 865 million women expected to enter the global economy by 2020, it is anticipated that only 17 percent will have received a sufficient education.Women's participation in education is represented by statistics on education level and type of economy, and while women's participation in tertiary education is now higher than that of men this does not translate to higher representation in top roles.Figures are also presented for workforce participation, and gender diversity in senior management, including by role and industry. Special topics in this report include statistics on business leaders' level of support of introducing gender quotas for business governance, as well as current diversity statistics of business boards from various countries, and a discussion of recent decreases in fertility rates around the world as a result of urbanisation in developing countries, and the possible effects this will have on thefemale workforce.The report concludes with figures representing percentages of businesses which have introduced flexible working arrangements, and other schemes for the advancement of women, many of which remain uncommon.

Talent personnel at professional services firm Deloitte here describe the new Mass Career Customisation (MCC) model the company has developed for talent management. The authors identify six trends which are changing the workforce, and which will have increasing impact in the future; these include a shrinking labour pool, a higher number of female workers, the expectations of Gen X and Gen Y employees, and the impact of technology. While flexible working arrangements have helped such issues in the past, these are argued to be one-off solutions typically negotiated at "points of crisis", which are not integrated with talent management and career progression.The MCC model builds on the concept of Mass Product Customisation, offering employees options based on the dimensions of pace, workload, location or schedule, and role. Employees choose their preferred position on the continua with the understanding that these may be re-evaluated at a later point. This model replaces the metaphor of a "corporate ladder" with that of a "corporate lattice", acknowledging that workers may voluntarily choose to move sideways or even downwards at various points in their careers.Examples are provided of sample profiles and the benefits of the model are discussed, including increased productivity and loyalty. The authors provide a thorough discussion of their experiences rolling out the system, and list several key lessons learnt for successful implementation.

This article from a human resource management journal examines women's career goals, and their motivations for using flexible working arrangements. The paper describes the rift between the "work is primary" model with an emerging "career self-agency" model, where workers enjoy greater freedom in managing working arrangements. Women are argued to be at the fore of this movement because of the conflicting demands of their private and professional lives.Results of a survey of female business leaders are reported, finding a variety of competing goals and motivations; where flexible work arrangements were used by women respondents they were most often those supporting full time work from home or outside of traditional hours, rather than part-time arrangements.The authors discuss companies' cultures as being either "assimilating", "accommodating" or "transforming". Examples are presented of transforming cultures, and advice and examples are provided of actions and changes that can be made at the job design, recruitment, training and development, compensation and retention stages.

This brief and practical article from a human resources journal argues that women leave organisations long before hitting the "glass ceiling" largely because increasing work demands in their lives come into conflict with inflexible workplace policies.From ongoing consultation with professional women, the author has assembled a list of five of the most important factors contributing to women staying in their roles. These are: flexibility, including provision of flexible working hours, telecommuting, part-time options and the ability to temporarily scale back one's career; caregiving support, such as paid parental leave and options for re-entry; maintaining contact with women who have left, such as through alumni networks or options for project work; ensuring the recruitment function welcomes women's career re-entry; and fostering a supportive organisational culture where flexible work is not stigmatised and efforts are made to measure success towards diversity targets. The article includes a brief description of Deloitte's "mass career customisation" career planning model.

This study surveys a wide range of staff at companies around the world, finding that more employees would opt for flexible work arrangements if the options better met their needs, and there were more visible “success stories” of its use. Flexible work is argued to be a means of attracting and retaining talent, particularly for younger employees or during periods of economic health. The paper argues that a wide range of options is necessary, presenting a list of these as well as four typical categories of employees with differing requirements. Recommendations are made for steps companies can take to make their flexible options more effective.

This study, conducted by an Australian not-for-profit organisation, surveyed Australian workers on their beliefs and priorities regarding work-life balance. The authors argue that focusing discussion of flexible working arrangements solely on women characterises women's careers and leadership as problematic. Few differences were found between men's and women's responses in the survey.A majority of men state that they expect to devote time to raising children, and are willing to make sacrifices to achieve this. Men expressed higher levels of commitment to parenting than to their careers, were more likely to be satisfied with their lives if satisfied with their contribution to family, and were more engaged working for organisations which offered options for achieving work-life balance. However, significantly fewer men have requested these options than women, with the most commonly cited reason being concern over negative career effects.Despite both genders valuing their careers equally, this reticence in opting for flexible work arrangements means more women leave the workforce or work part-time to meet the workload demands of raising children.